Sense of Loss
by actionman81
Summary: Agent Peggy Carter and Diana Prince learn that they have a few things in common


1946  
New York

The pretty brunette made her way toward the New York Bell Company. Just before she entered the door, a man tapped her on the shoulder.  
"Darlin' do you happen to have the time?"  
She stared at him, then pulled out a dated wristwatch from her coat pocket. "It's about a quarter after one" she smiled  
"Yeah" he looked suddenly sullen, "You better strap that to your wrist so you don't lose it"  
"Thank you" she nodded and proceeded to do as he'd suggested.

"Marge, why don't you be a doll and file these for me?" Jack Thompson dumped a pile of papers on her desk.  
"Yes, Chief" Peggy fumed. She would much rather kick the papers clear across the bullpen, but that would be

"Is this the telephone company?" Diana asked a man in a suit  
"Sure it is, honey" he grinned  
"I'm looking for a woman who works here. I was told she could help me"  
The girls are downstairs" he smiled and walked on  
"The women work downstairs" Diana headed to the elevator

Peggy looked up from her casework. A brunette woman stood before her, dressed in a business oriented blouse, slacks and coat.  
"Yes, can I help you?" she smiled  
"I was told that you're Agent Carter. I should talk to you if I needed assistance"  
"Please, what can I do?" Peggy offered her the chair.  
Diana stood, "I lost my – my" she faltered over the words. Her eyes fell on the photo of Steve Rogers pre serum, one hundred and ten pounds,  
"Is that your-" she hesitated over the word for a moment, "your husband?" she remembered the conversation that she and Steve had in the boat ride from Paradise Island to London  
"Oh" Peggy smiled sadly, glancing at the emaciated blonde man in the photograph, "No, no he's my-" she hesitated  
"Not your husband?" Diana had learned much over the past nearly thirty years, but some intricacies of human interaction still momentarily eluded her her.  
"No" Peggy sighed, "He was someone I knew"  
"I'm sorry" Diana understood, "Did he work with you?"  
"In a way" Peggy replied  
"If I may ask" Diana began, "how did he – pass on?"she hesitated for the correct words  
"He was piloting a jet" Peggy explained, glancing from Diana to the photograph on the desk, "and he had for forcibly crash it"  
"I am sorry" Diana stressed the verb  
Peggy looked up at her, a sad smile played on her face, "How did your – boyfriend—" she let the words hang, not able to find the right expression at the moment.  
"Boyfriend?" Diana frowned over the term  
"Perhaps I overstepped things" Peggy looked away momentarily  
"No, please explain" Diana grabbed a chair from the next desk, and placed it opposite Peggy's desk. She finally sat down after having come into the bullpen.  
"A boyfriend?" Peggy asked for clarity  
"Yes" Diana was matter of fact, "Isn't that a boy who is my friend?"  
"Well, yes" Peggy started, "but it can mean other things. I guess –" she glanced at the photo on her desk and then back at Diana, "I suppose people think of me as nothing other than Steve's girlfriend"  
"Steve" Diana asked the question, but it was uttered like a statement.  
"He was someone I loved" Peggy went on, "and after he died, I guess people still thought of me as nothing more than his – partner, I suppose- an accessory, more like it"  
Diana placed her hand on the table. Her jacket sleeve hitched up and her wristwatch was visible. She looked down at it and touched it with her other hand, "This belonged to him"  
"Oh" Peggy understood  
"He flew an airplane; it was full of gas bombs, and they would have been detonated, but he sacrificed himself" she choked back a sob,"My- b— Steve"  
Peggy stared at her  
Diana realized what the confusion was about, "His name was Steve Trevor"  
Peggy flipped the photograph around so Diana could see it properly, "The jet he flew was carrying bombs that would've been dropped over the United States, on the various cities. He couldn't turn the jet back or land safely, so he forced a crash. He gave his life to save us all" Peggy nodded, "His name" she blinked back tears, "was Steve Rogers"  
"He said his father gave him this watch" Diana explained  
"It's lovely" Peggy smiled. She recalled Steve's compass; the one with her photograph in it.  
"It is- all I have left of him now" Diana sighed  
"No" Peggy shook her head and gave a sad smile, "You have your memories. I'm sure – I'm sure you have shared a lot of wonderful moments with him"  
Diana's mind flashed back to her last conversation with him,  
"I have to go" Steve had pushed the watch into her hands, "I love you, Diana"  
Peggy didn't notice Diana's near-trancelike state. She was lost in her own thoughts. She heard Steve's voice over the radio, "We'll have the band play something slow. I'd hate to step on your—" his voice had been cut off when the jet plunged into the icy Arctic waters.  
Both women looked up from their daydream at each other.  
Somehow, they knew where the other had been, what they'd gone through, and what they were destined for. It would be so much more than simply being anyone's girlfriend.  
Oh yes.


End file.
